No Halloween Sweets for You! Only Healthy Halloween Treats

It's that time of year again with ghosts, goblins, costumes, pumpkins, candy, candy, and more candy. Halloween is a time for kids and adults to dress up and have fun, usually ending on a sugar high.

With all of the chronic diseases out there, it is becoming critical that we pay attention to sugar and the impacts it has on our bodies and health. It is can be addictive, and our younger generations are consuming more sugar than ever before.

The Halloween treat industry is big business (about $2.25 billion in 2013 according to IBISWorld). Our collective awareness of the negative impacts sugar has heightened, and our search for healthier options has increased. The good news is that we have healthier options for Halloween and other holidays.

Offer younger generations healthy Halloween treats with less sugar and more nutrition that still taste delicious. Don't eliminate candy, rather reduce the amount and offer trick-or-treaters other healthier options and creative treats. Here are a few ideas that transform our idea of Halloween treats.

Non-Food Halloween Treats: Rather then giving out candy, the treats could be bouncy balls, glow sticks, stickers, pens, notepads, temporary tattoos, bubbles, and other inexpensive toys that are fun and playful.

Healthy Homemade Treats: Although this is a less popular idea, due to the risks of the items not being wrapped and efforts required, you could make healthy homemade treats for around the house. Make a deal with your kids to trade their candy treats in for homemade treats that you can make together. Share the conversation and the experience, and educate them about what is healthy and what is not healthy and why. Do a google search or get on Pinterest and find an abundance of healthy treats you can make together at home.

Trade Candy Treats for Treasures: There is an organization out there called Switch Witch that allows you to take you candy treats and trade them in for toys and others things. You can also create this game with your kids. Tell them a story about a Halloween Witch or Fairy (like the tooth fairy) that sneaks in on Halloween night and will exchange the candy for treasures or fun activities like golfing, local amusement park, movies, game, or other creative things.

No kids (or adults) want to miss out on the fun festivities and tradition of Halloween. We simply need to get creative and co-create with our kids and families new ways to celebrate and enjoy this holiday without relying so heavily on high doses of sugar and candy.

Together we can start a new trend and transform the way we enjoy this holiday. As we collectively begin to offer trick-or-treaters better, healthier options beyond traditional candy, we begin to cause change for our future generations.

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About the Author

Lisa Saremi is health and wellness coach for Limitless-U and blogger for eatnuts.com. Lisa received training as a Health Coach from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition's cutting-edge Health Coach Training Program on dietary theories, practical lifestyle management and innovative coaching methods with top health and wellness experts.